A former aide to Gordon Brown has demanded the resignation of a Fife Labour councillor amid bitter in-fighting following the party’s disastrous Holyrood election result.
John Rowan, who worked for the former prime minister until last year’s Westminster election, accused Dunfermline Central councillor Willie Sullivan of failing to attend meetings and tarnishing the party’s reputation.
Labour only won one constituency seat in its traditional Fife heartland in last month’s election as the SNP romped to victory across the country.
Now Mr Rowan, who was a member of the campaign team for Labour’s Dunfermline candidate Alex Rowley, said the local councillor’s poor reputation in the area was regularly brought up on the doorstep.
And his view appeared to be backed up by a senior Liberal Democrat councillor, who said Mr Sullivan was known for rarely attending council meetings despite receiving a salary of more than £16,000.
Mr Sullivan is director of the Electoral Reform Society Scotland and was head of operations for the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign in the run-up to the AV referendum a role which saw him spend much of the year in London.
In a letter copied to The Courier, Mr Rowan accused Mr Sullivan of failing his constituents and damaging Labour’s standing in the area.’Performance'”I am sure that you are aware that I spent six to seven days a week in Dunfermline and west Fife talking to the voters and campaigning for Alex Rowley,” he said. “One issue that kept coming up on the doorstep was the performance of yourself as a local councillor for Dunfermline.
“People complained that you did not attend local meetings of residents when asked and there was a perception that you spent more time in London than in Dunfermline and that you did very little for them.
“In view of this I would urge you consider your position as a councillor in Fife and certainly not stand for re-election in 2012.”
The claims, which Mr Sullivan called a “vendetta,” will be seen as further evidence of internal feuding within Labour as the party struggles to come to grips with its election meltdown. They will also reopen the debate about the role of councillors, who are now paid a significant salary, rather than just expenses.
The chairman of the City of Dunfermline area committee claimed Mr Sullivan had not attended meetings for over a year.
Liberal Democrat councillor Joe Rosiejak said, “I can confirm I have not seen the said councillor since the June meeting last year.”
Speaking to The Courier, Mr Sullivan accepted his profession had forced him to spend time away from Dunfermline. He admitted that was “less than ideal” but said he had continued to do a good job for his constituents.’Vendetta’He said Mr Rowan had a personal grudge against him and queried Mr Rosiejak’s claim about the area committee meetings.
“John has now written a letter to the chief executive of Fife Council and my boss at the Electoral Reform Society,” Mr Sullivan said. “He is clearly pursuing a personal vendetta.”
He said he would not be resigning as a councillor but was “seriously considering” not standing in next year’s local authority elections.
He admitted missing several Dunfermline area committee meetings but insisted he had attended “one or two” in the last year.
“Electoral reform is something I passionately believe in and I could not pass up the opportunity,” he added.
Mr Rowley who is also a Fife councillor defended his colleague, saying, “I think John has got it wrong.”